Federico Stories

In 1529, the warrior Shúri ruled Yusique (Chinameca). He belonged to the Lenca people and was a very thin cacique about thirty years old. He looked weak, but he had special physical abilities like a few people in  Cuzcatlan . He possessed the agility of the jaguar; the versatility of the deer and he was incredible flexibility as a bow. His personality was amazing because he used his brain more than pure brute force. His spirit inspired every Indian in his lands, he was considered the warlord of the warlords by his men (figure 1). Figure 1. Shúri.  ¹ At the beginning of that year, Shúri heard of some evil conquistadors taking full control of  Cuzcatlan (the western part of El Salvador) . He was concerned because of their military power and the 4-legged animals they were using to take control extremely fast. This seemed like an extremely challenging battle to win, but they had to stop them at any cost. In 1530, the situation in the central of the country got out of control ...

The elders of Apaneca always said that many years ago, when the streets were some dirt and other cobblestones, at midnight every year a horseman, who was riding all over El Salvador came to the city. That horseman dressed in black rode a horse of the same color (figure 1), which fired fire from his eyes and blew smoke from his jaws when it snorted. Figure 1. The Black Horse. ¹ This mysterious rider left in the direction of the coffee plants where the oligarchs used to live when  the Black Knight  arrived at their houses, he forced his horse to dance for several minutes. The only noise that you could hear was his hooves when they were hitting stones. The savage neighing that was emitted by the horse from time to time scared the neighborhood. All people were afraid when the Black Knight arrived because all legends say he returned to take a new soul to hell. However, people were more afraid of his horse. They said the horse rode alone in the city without him. I...

It was during the times of the Spanish conquest when a group of eight Indians was on a pilgrimage to a town called Sihuatehuacan. These faithful people were carrying a religious statue (figure 1), which was heavy and massive these days. That day the night came earlier than they expected, which forced them to spend the night in an unknown place called Santa Ana in the middle of their journey. Figure 1. Our Lady Saint Anne. ¹ The next day, as soon as the sun rose, the men who carried the statue of the Virgin decided to continue on their way. Otherwise, they would not arrive on time at the church where they had to place it. However, when they tried to lift her off the ground, they realized that there was no human power to move her. They started to ask for help, but no one was able to help them. Suddenly, an old lady suggested to them to erect a chapel there because it was a divine sign of Our Lady Saint Anne that she wanted to stay there. Nowadays, you can find the statu...

What I’m going to tell you, a man told me years ago. The same story was shared with him by someone else too. He told me that his grandfather, already deceased, had heard it from his grandparents. This is an old legend to cut a long story short. They said that this happened in those days when still many Indians lived in America and the first Spanish Conquistadors were arriving at these lands with more and more Spaniards. According to what old legends said, almost all these Spaniards came because they were not doing very well in their country, and they thought they would have a better life in these lands. That’s how Marcos Villegas came to El Salvador, who later renamed himself as Mr. Marcos Villegas de la Buena Nueva. If I remember correctly, he was born in a small town lost in the mountains of Spain. They said because he was unrude, he learned how to read and write thanks to the charity and patience of Priest Mateo Nuñez, a little priest who often visited that place...

It was a warm night of winter in San Pedro Perulapán, and I was coming very late, drunk and tired on Friday at midnight. I could barely remember where I was, or where I was going, I just fell down on the pavement and slept. A couple of hours later, some bells were ringing, and I woke up. I looked around; I was in a church that I didn’t recognize. It looked antique like the Colonial times. I merely took my hat off and sat on the closest empty chair. The priest was reciting in a language that I didn’t comprehend well. My grandma always said that 100 years ago, the churches celebrated the masses in Latin, but I wasn’t sure if it was that mythical language because I had never heard it before. The church seemed empty, and I tried going closer to the altar because I couldn’t see it. I felt the potent incense, and the smoke was considerably deep. The roof was completely dark from all the candles over the years. Plus, the saints on the walls, their faces seemed washed out or opaque. I ...